Finished: June 11, 2017

Published: June 11, 2017

== A.N. ==

I'm back with a new chapter.

Hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own the chracters of Naruto, just the plot of this story.

See you at the end, enjoy!

~.~.~.~

"My name is Hidan…" answered the silver haired kid quietly before he shyly smiled at the brunette, "well that was until yesterday, now I'm 'Money' apparently… unless you like my real name better."

"Money?" Kakuzu said out loud unable to process things properly. Money was the albino – possibly deaf – kitten that he had picked up yesterday. Not this little naked child! He had decided he would take care of a cat not a child, this was so wrong!

"Look kid, I don't know what kind of sick joke this is but you need to get out of my apartment and put some clothes on, capisce? " the grin Hidan wore was quickly gone after hearing those words.

"Is it because I look like this?" asked Hidan feeling hurt in an angry tone, "I can change back if I look so bad!" and as he had said he could, Hidan changed back into the small silver kitten Kakuzu knew.

"What? How is this even possible?" Kakuzu was dumbfounded by the turn of events, "you were a kitten, not a kid…" there was nothing else he could do but stare, there was no explanation to justify what had just happened. He could have never seen this coming. How did piking up a kitten turn out like this?

"Meow." Answered Hidan as he looked up to Kakuzu angrily, he knew he wouldn't understand but he didn't expect him to say such hurtful things without giving him a chance to explain first.

"I can't understand you." Tried to reason Kakuzu as he tried to run his fingers through his hair, a habit he had developed when facing stressful situations. His fingers, however, were stopped by the towel covering his hair.

Hidan shifted back into a human, a small scowl present on his face. This wasn't how this was supposed to go, he wanted to surprise the brunette after they had lived together for a while, that way he would have taken things better. But now he was in a mess he'd rather not be in.

"Why won't you make up your mind, I thought you didn't like me as a human." Hidan felt so frustrated, he didn't like dealing with humans, all the encounters he had with them in his human form had so far turned for the worst.

"Its not that," Kakuzu removed the towel form his head, a frown on his face, "I just don't appreciate nudity, especially even less in children…" Kakuzu approached Hidan and picked him up from the couch, he wrapped the child with the towel as he bended over for better access, "Sorry if its damp."

"It's also cold…" muttered Hidan, now less angry but still not forgiving the brunette. He looked less stupid without the cloth – he wasn't sure what it was – around his head, but he still looked stupid, yup stupid and mean.

"Why didn't you leave if you can understand me?" asked Kakuzu, he had threatened the kitten after all. He sat down next to Hidan who looked upset, he really couldn't blame him.

"What do you mean?" Hidan was shivering slightly as he felt the damp towel against his naked skin.

"I said I was going to eat you." Kakuzu looked at Hidan seriously.

"You didn't mean it." Hidan looked up to the brunette as seriously as the other looked at him.

"Of curse I didn't." it was obvious he wouldn't eat a small kitten, he just wanted to say something that would scare the small fur-ball away.

"Then?" questioned Hidan trying to see how much further he could stall the subject and convince the man to let him stay.

"It was meant to make you go away."

"But I didn't."

"Why didn't you." If it had been Kakuzu he would have left, so why didn't the kitten leave like it should have.

"Because, you weren't aggressive and you even fed me." Kakuzu's eyes widened a fraction for a second before they returned to normal.

"Anyone else would have done the same if you pestered them like you did to me."

"No they wouldn't, a guy tried throwing boiling water on me." Hidan was serious, this was the first human that had shown him kindness in that way.

"That sounds awful." Kakuzu didn't know what else to say, it sounded bad but it wasn't impossible to believe. Just as there are good people there are also bad people, not everyone would help a stray kitten and not everyone would turn a blind eye. There were always those people who would harm animals just because they could.

"Well, people are awful; that's what I've learned so far." Hidan smiled at Kakuzu, "well, except you."

"Why did you lie to me." Kakuzu couldn't have the kid saying things like that now that he knew he had to get rid of him, it would make things harder.

"I didn't." Hidan's smile vanished and he became serious once again. Why was it so hard for the brunette to just let him stay?

"You didn't tell me you were human." If he would have known he wouldn't have let him in and he wouldn't have fed him, he could have found another home with someone better if he tried hard enough.

"I'm not." He knew he wasn't; humans were different form him, they had different mindsets and were biologically different.

"Then what are you." Well he knew he wasn't human, but he didn't exactly fit the cat category either since he could control changing into a cat and into a person. Kakuzu had never heard of anything of the like; well actually about anything like that actually happening in real life.

"Its hard to explain with fancy words but I'm a cat and human, except I'm not a hybrid. Hybrids are a mix of things and I'm not." His mother had explained this to him with fancy words but he couldn't remember all she had said, he just remembered the word hybrid and what it meant because it sounded cool.

"Right… well, you know I can't keep you…" they were getting off topic and he needed to steer the conversation in the direction it was actually supposed to be headed.

"Then you lied to me last night." Hidan's voice was low and his expression hardened, the words coming from the man who was supposed to help him stung him; did he dislike him so much that he wasn't willing to give him a chance?

"I didn't… I just didn't know you were human last night." Kakuzu sighed, "I can't afford to keep a child." Kakuzu didn't want to deal with having to explain this to a hard headed child.

"Please don't kick me back into the streets it sucks out there." Hidan's expression softened into a saddened one.

"I can take you to an orphanage, they take kids in and give them to families that want children."

"You wouldn't be the first one to try…" anger rose again in the child once again, triggered by those stupid words.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, another thing I've learned so far is that adults don't respond well to naked children. Men pretend they didn't see anything while women panic and tell me that they can't take me in but they will take me to a place where there are other children I can make friends with and where I won't have to be hungry or in the need of shelter." Hidan remembered their annoying loud voices, they didn't care for him and wanted to send him to a hell hole, "they would cover me with their coats and try to take me to that place, whatever its called." Just like you're trying to do right now, were the words Hidan left unsaid, he was upset at the brunette.

"Well, I can't keep you." Kakuzu's expression seemed somewhat pained but he really didn't have any other options.

"Why not?" Hidan's eyes were pleading but his face seemed to convey angry emotions, maybe he was feeling fear, was it fear of rejection? That seemed something stupid considering he had been alone for a few days until now. But no matter how he looked at it, it still hurt.

"I can't afford to feed us both and I can't take care of you either."

"But you promised… and, it wasn't a problem when you thought I was a cat!" tears were forming in the small child's eyes, this scene was tugging at Kakuzu's heart strings but he couldn't let himself be swayed so easily; if he put common sense into his situation then he could tell that there was no way in hell this would work.

He was running low on funds – he had only brought with him a specific amount of money after all – and today was the first day of his job, he didn't even know if he was gong to keep it. He wasn't in a stable situation therefore he couldn't keep the kid.

"I know what I said, but back then you were a cat, not a kid; I can afford to keep a cat but not a kid." Kakuzu tried to lay it down on the kid as gently as he could but the kid always managed to change the direction their conversation was going. Shit, he had a weak spot for kids.

"What if I stayed a cat then."

"No." steeling his heart seemed like the best option. If he didn't he would give in and end up in deep shit.

"Please, I can stay a cat and I'll eat nasty cat food and if you want you can buy me a litter box although I think it could be better if I just used the restroo-" Hidan's words were rushed as he tried to explain everything he could to get the man to see things his way but he got interrupted before he could finish.

"Enough," Kakuzu's voice cut through the others rambling, strength backing up his voice, "I can't keep you, understand where I stand; I can do nothing for you." Kakuzu's vice showed his seriousness but Hidan wouldn't let the brunette have the last word.

Hidan looked at the floor as he clenched his fists, the tears that were swelling in his eyes made the floor look blurry and his eyes sting. Everything seemed to be going by agonizingly slow and it hurt to have the only thing he had slip from his small fingers.

"Why do you have to push me away?" Hidan's voice was low but it was loud enough to hear in the empty house, he paused as he took a breath to try to compose himself as heavy tears raced past his eyelashes and down his cheeks, "you know I have nowhere to go, so why… why do you have to push me back into the streets?"

"Look, kid, I-"

"Why can't I stay?"

"I already explaine-"

"Please," Hidan looked up to meet Kakuzu's eyes as tears kept spilling, "Let me stay, I'll promise to stay out of the way, I just… don't want to be alone at night…" Kakuzu's heart clenched, this kid wasn't really giving him any options.

"Fine you can stay…" Hidan's eyes immediately brightened up after he heard those words come out of the brunette, "but," Hidan's stomach dropped slightly, "I have work in about an hour and I won't be back until late." Kakuzu smiled lightly and now it was Hidan's turn to smile too. Kakuzu placed a hand on Hidan's head and he ruffled the boy's hair.

"But you'll be back, right?" questioned Hidan just to make sure the other wasn't just planning on ditching him.

"Yes." Yay!

"And I can stay, right?"

"Yes, again." Another yay!

"Then, there's no problem." Hidan hadn't noticed but he had been shivering all this time after he had received the towel from the brunette.

"Alright, but stop shivering."

"But its cold and the cloth thingy is wet!" Kakuzu chuckled and got up, slowly walking away, "Hey, where are you going?" Kakuzu walked at a leisurely pace leaving Hidan behind.

"Well since you're going to stay and you'll probably get sick from that cold wet towel, I'm going to my room for some clothes," Hidan moved away from the couch and walked behind Kakuzu holding the piece of cloth against his body as to prevent it from falling off, "I don't have any clothes that are your size but I think a shirt would be fine." Kakuzu walked into his room and looked through one of his drawers for a shirt for the kid. He turned with the shirt in hand only to find the albino waiting outside his room's door.

"What's wrong?" Kakuzu moved towards Hidan.

"Off limits, remember?" Hidan grinned when Kakuzu made an unimpressed face.

"Right…" he took the towel form the kid and offered him the shirt, "put this on."

"Alright." Hidan took the shirt form Kakuzu's hands and struggled to put it on.

"You're a mess…" whispered Kakuzu as he took the shirt from the kid and put it on for him.

"I'm not used to putting on shirts, ok?" Hidan pouted as he stood at the doorframe, the shirt the brunette had given him was indeed too big on him. It fit him like a dress, the sleeves went past his elbows and the shirt pooled on the floor, only his toes peeked from under the fabric.

"Yeah, sure."

"But I'm not!" protested Hidan, he really wasn't, what part of naked didn't he get?

"I know." Kakuzu moved past the kid and walked to the kitchen, Hidan followed as he scowled, the shirt was too long and he was sure that if he tripped he would fall and break his head open, "so tell me, can you eat human food?" Hidan stopped scowling and looked up.

"Huh?" he wasn't paying attention to the brunette and had completely missed what the other had said.

"Don't 'huh' me, can you eat human food?" Hidan's brain was a little slow to process what the other had meant by that. He was still a little numb from the earlier events.

"Yeah."

"Then we're having instant noodles for breakfast."

"Cool."

"Go watch TV, I'll be there when the food is done."

"What's a TV?" asked Hidan and Kakuzu sighed, 'Right he's a cat…' he moved to the living room and picked up the remote from the coffee table.

"That's a TV," said Kakuzu as he pointed at the television, "and this is a remote, you use it to turn on the TV and change the channels and other things."

"Cool."

"Yeah." Kakuzu sat on the couch and turned on the TV he flipped trough the channels until he found something to watch, "I don't know what kids watch these days but I think this might be it." Kakuzu left the TV in a channel that was showing cartoons for kids. He got up and went to the kitchen to prepare the instant cup noodles. Hidan followed the brunette into the kitchen.

"Hey I just realized something!" piped up Hidan as Kakuzu started boiling water.

"What is it?" asked Kakuzu as he turned around and leaned against the counter next to the stove.

"You haven't told me your name."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I told you mine but you didn't tell me yours."

"My name is Kakuzu." Kakuzu didn't really see why this was relevant but he played along.

"Cool, Kakuzu… Kakuzu… Kakuzu… sounds easy but I'll call you old man." Hidan grinned and Kakuzu smirked.

"Alright, then I'll call you beef jerky." Kakuzu's smirk widened when he saw the horrified look in Hidan's face.

"No wait I take it back!" Hidan was spluttering, it was a truly endearing sight.

"Alright, beef jerky…" Kakuzu couldn't help but to tease the boy.

"Hey! I said I take it back!"

"Alright." The water was boiling at this point and it was ready to be poured into the cups.

~.~.~.~

"Wow did you see that! That ro-ro…" Hidan was having trouble finding the right word to describe the metal human but he was too excited to not try.

"Robot." Helped Kakuzu and Hidan grinned.

"Yeah, robot, that robot got smashed by that other robot!" Hidan had never seen something like that, it was totally cool, he had no idea how Kakuzu was not freaking out about it like he was.

"Mh." It was amusing seeing Hidan acting like that, he had forgotten what it was like to be a kid.

"And that light!"

"Laser." Corrected Kakuzu helping Hidan find the right words to describe what he saw.

"Yeah, that laser just totally hit that other robot!"

"Mhm."

"Oh, did you see that too?!"

"Yes." Kakuzu was bored, he looked at the clock, '7:25, better get going…'

"Aw, why does it have to be interrupted?"

"Those are commercials." There was an advertisement for paper towels playing on the TV.

"What are they for?"

"They advertise things people want to buy."

"Why?"

"Because its their job."

"What's a job?"

"Getting paid money to do something."

"Oh," Hidan nodded smiling, "I don't get it." Kakuzu looked at him unimpressed, but shrugged Hidan's comment off.

"Don't worry about it." Kakuzu got up and walked to the kitchen to throw away his empty cup, "speaking of jobs… I have to get to mine so you're staying here until I get back."

~.~.~.~

"I'm going to my job, I don't get home until late so you can watch TV all day or something; just keep yourself busy, don't go outside or open the door if anyone knocks, if anything happens just pretend to be a cat."

"What time do you get back?"

"I'll be back at five, I'd tell you to make yourself more noodles for lunch but you can't use the stove."

"But I saw you do it!" Hidan could totally use the stove, it was so easy; he just had to turn that circle thingy and fire would come out of that other metal thingy and-

"I don't want you to burn down the apartment so the stove is off limits and only I can use it."

"Ok." It was disappointing to see Kakuzu didn't have faith in him but it was ok, he could be a good boy and wait until Kakuzu gave him permission.

"When I get back I'm going to buy you clothes and food. Now that you're here I can't let you just live off that 'instant' crap."

== A.N. ==

Whoop second chapter done!

How was it?

I'm thinking of bringing in the rest of the Akatsuki but I'm not sure… (probably will because I love them too much to not bring them in)

Don't worry guys, Hidan won't set the apartment on fire…maybe.

Please favorite and follow if you liked this and drop me some love in the form of a review.

Well, see you in the next chapter, thank you for reading this far, bye!

*Gives you some cyber sweets*